Telescopic tools having interchangeable pickup and inspection heads such as mirrors, magnifiers and magnetic pickups are well known. See for example United States design patent numbers D379,656 and D378,337. Such tools are used to inspect and/or retrieve objects in a variety of hard-to-reach situations. For example, mechanics use such tools to inspect and/or retrieve components located within an automobile engine compartment. A slim telescopic rod having a small pickup or inspection head mounted at its end can be fed through comparatively small spaces and positioned to enable the mechanic to inspect engine components retrieve a loose component which may have been inadvertently dropped, etc.
Sometimes, it is necessary to use such tools in regions which are not well illuminated. For example, the interior regions of vehicle engine compartments are not normally well illuminated, making it difficult for the mechanic to see components located in such regions. The lack of illumination diminishes the efficiency of the inspection/pickup tool. Although a trouble light, flashlight, etc. can be used to provide illumination, this requires the mechanic to locate and bring to the work site a separate illuminating device. Moreover, if an illuminating device such as a hand-held flashlight is used, both of the mechanic's hands will be occupied (i.e. one hand is needed to hold the inspection/pickup tool and the other hand is needed to hold the flashlight). Further, many trouble lights, flashlights, etc. do not provide a light beam which can be selectably focused.
The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the present invention, which provides a telescopic pickup/inspection tool having a plurality of interchangeable heads and having an integrated, selectably focusable illumination capability.
The prior art has evolved inspection/pickup tools having an integral illumination capability. For example, one prior art tool incorporates a lucite rod for projecting light and a mirror which can be clipped onto the rod. Another prior art tool mounts a small light bulb at the end of a telescopic rod adjacent a pivotable mirror on which the light shines. However, the illumination capability of such prior art devices tends to be poor and cannot be selectably focused while the pickup/inspection tool is being used for inspection/pickup purposes.